A meeting took place in the Kremlin on August 6 between Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff arrived in Moscow that morning, where he was greeted by the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Putin’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation with other countries, Kirill Dmitriev.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Ceasefire on the Agenda
Negotiations between Witkoff and Putin are taking place on the eve of the deadline for the ultimatum issued by Trump. The U.S. President demands that Russia achieve a ceasefire with Ukraine by August 8, or he threatens to impose 100% tariffs on all imports of goods from Russia and its trading partners to the U.S.
The day before, on August 5, Trump had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Zelensky, they “coordinated” their positions and exchanged assessments of the situation. In particular, Zelensky noted that the Russians have intensified the brutality of their strikes, and Trump is fully informed about the new shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. The Ukrainian President described the conversation as productive and expressed gratitude to Trump for his “efforts for a fair and lasting peace.”
“We exchanged assessments of the situation: the Russians have increased the brutality of their strikes. President Trump is fully informed about the Russian strikes on Kyiv and our other cities.”
Positions of the Parties and Prospects
According to information from Bloomberg, Russia may try to meet Trump’s demands by agreeing to halt airstrikes, but without a complete cessation of hostilities on the ground. At the same time, according to Russian reports, the RF troops continue offensive operations in Donbas, and Putin is not agreeing to a full ceasefire. President Zelensky opposes a partial ceasefire, believing that a complete cessation of hostilities is necessary, not just “silence in the sky.”
Reuters notes that Moscow does not believe in Trump’s ability to implement sanctions that Russia would not be able to overcome.